Just a question about when queens that do not fly.

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Hunter36o
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Location: Dublin, Ireland

Just a question about when queens that do not fly.

Post: # 49766Post Hunter36o
Sat Sep 08, 2018 8:17 am

This problem seems like a silly kind of question, but i am thinking in terms of my Lasius queen and her future alate queens who won't get to fly. Queens can life for 15 years plus, a record of 29 for L. Niger. Now when when a colony of ants is a pet colomy, the alates that come when they are at the right stage of life do not get to take part in nuptial flight. Now regardless of mating or not drones die simple as.
However I've heard that queen alates will break off wings and go about normal worker duties. When I think about it though. I have watch all of the fire nation vids on AC's YouTube and never did I see the alates that never got to fly within the ranks.
Do the queens loose majority of their lifespan due to the lack of mating or does their natural longer life span encourage them to take on the worker roles for longer periods of time?

Sorry but I cannot really find anything on this and it just screams at my curiosity but my colonies have no more then ten nanitic workers at the moment so I'm a long ways away lol
Research is important before during and even after you have established a colony. There is always time to learn and to listen to others experiences. Live by this and your ants will thrive. Fail to do so and your experience may be brief.

ClashOwenBash
Posts: 189
Joined: Sun Jul 15, 2018 1:58 am
Location: Oxfordshire, England

Re: Just a question about when queens that do not fly.

Post: # 49783Post ClashOwenBash
Sat Sep 08, 2018 12:39 pm

I guess they do lose their long lifespan as they bodys start to shut down as they have no real purpose. Interesting question though. They do just seem to disappear after a time.
Ant-keeper going into his 4th year of loving ants!

AntsDakota
Posts: 1283
Joined: Sat Mar 17, 2018 4:22 pm
Location: South Dakota

Re: Just a question about when queens that do not fly.

Post: # 49911Post AntsDakota
Sun Sep 09, 2018 4:53 pm

Hunter36o wrote:
Sat Sep 08, 2018 8:17 am
This problem seems like a silly kind of question, but i am thinking in terms of my Lasius queen and her future alate queens who won't get to fly. Queens can life for 15 years plus, a record of 29 for L. Niger. Now when when a colony of ants is a pet colomy, the alates that come when they are at the right stage of life do not get to take part in nuptial flight. Now regardless of mating or not drones die simple as.
However I've heard that queen alates will break off wings and go about normal worker duties. When I think about it though. I have watch all of the fire nation vids on AC's YouTube and never did I see the alates that never got to fly within the ranks.
Do the queens loose majority of their lifespan due to the lack of mating or does their natural longer life span encourage them to take on the worker roles for longer periods of time?

Sorry but I cannot really find anything on this and it just screams at my curiosity but my colonies have no more then ten nanitic workers at the moment so I'm a long ways away lol
Open their outworld and place it outside. The queens will then proceed to fly out in nuptial flight with every other elate.
"God made every kind of wild beasts and every kind of livestock and every kind of creeping things;" (including ants) "and God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:25

Hunter36o
Posts: 376
Joined: Fri Jun 15, 2018 9:57 am
Location: Dublin, Ireland

Re: Just a question about when queens that do not fly.

Post: # 49946Post Hunter36o
Mon Sep 10, 2018 7:33 am

Hey dakoda, this part I am aware off, but if a keeper missed that or was in able to do this one particular year the question what then? If ya get me.

Owen, that is why I noticed too, just poof. So this is why I question the current belief that they get to work as I can find no evidence of this and like I said before my colonies are way to young for to find out any time soon xD
Research is important before during and even after you have established a colony. There is always time to learn and to listen to others experiences. Live by this and your ants will thrive. Fail to do so and your experience may be brief.

ClashOwenBash
Posts: 189
Joined: Sun Jul 15, 2018 1:58 am
Location: Oxfordshire, England

Re: Just a question about when queens that do not fly.

Post: # 49953Post ClashOwenBash
Mon Sep 10, 2018 9:30 am

Maybe the workers even kill them off so they don't waste resources. Its a horrible thought but I've heard of polygynous colonies killing older queens as they produce less eggs than the younger ones.
Ant-keeper going into his 4th year of loving ants!

Hunter36o
Posts: 376
Joined: Fri Jun 15, 2018 9:57 am
Location: Dublin, Ireland

Re: Just a question about when queens that do not fly.

Post: # 49960Post Hunter36o
Mon Sep 10, 2018 10:29 am

Wow! The ant world is s harsh one, plus that backs up the theory the queens are simply slaves of the colony o.o
I will make note to keep a good eye in the next year or two and I'll make sure to repost my finding here.

Also have a plan to help multi queen colonies and their keepers with a way to boost queen count with out having to hunt down new queens as this can be difficult sometimes so I believe.
Research is important before during and even after you have established a colony. There is always time to learn and to listen to others experiences. Live by this and your ants will thrive. Fail to do so and your experience may be brief.

AntsDakota
Posts: 1283
Joined: Sat Mar 17, 2018 4:22 pm
Location: South Dakota

Re: Just a question about when queens that do not fly.

Post: # 50041Post AntsDakota
Tue Sep 11, 2018 3:18 pm

Hunter36o wrote:
Mon Sep 10, 2018 7:33 am
Hey dakoda, this part I am aware off, but if a keeper missed that or was in able to do this one particular year the question what then? If ya get me.

Owen, that is why I noticed too, just poof. So this is why I question the current belief that they get to work as I can find no evidence of this and like I said before my colonies are way to young for to find out any time soon xD
Put it out for a week or two when they are known to fly. Sprinkle a tiny bit of water into their outworld or even into the tube leading to the nest when it actually rains outside. Then they will smell the nuptial flight pheromones all around them and take off.
"God made every kind of wild beasts and every kind of livestock and every kind of creeping things;" (including ants) "and God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:25

Hunter36o
Posts: 376
Joined: Fri Jun 15, 2018 9:57 am
Location: Dublin, Ireland

Re: Just a question about when queens that do not fly.

Post: # 50097Post Hunter36o
Wed Sep 12, 2018 3:27 am

That is the plan. However for Myrmica I want to try make a mating dome so ant keepers can replenish their queen count. Have to figure out some cinks that are already possible in my head so it will take work but it should be ready in time for when one of my Myrmica colonies mature in the future.
Research is important before during and even after you have established a colony. There is always time to learn and to listen to others experiences. Live by this and your ants will thrive. Fail to do so and your experience may be brief.

ClashOwenBash
Posts: 189
Joined: Sun Jul 15, 2018 1:58 am
Location: Oxfordshire, England

Re: Just a question about when queens that do not fly.

Post: # 50109Post ClashOwenBash
Wed Sep 12, 2018 7:47 am

Hunter36o wrote:
Wed Sep 12, 2018 3:27 am
That is the plan. However for Myrmica I want to try make a mating dome so ant keepers can replenish their queen count. Have to figure out some cinks that are already possible in my head so it will take work but it should be ready in time for when one of my Myrmica colonies mature in the future.
Myrmica queens are know to return to their original nests, and even mate within their nests. (A characteristic more common in microrubra). But it does sound like a good idea, I might try it too.
Ant-keeper going into his 4th year of loving ants!

Hunter36o
Posts: 376
Joined: Fri Jun 15, 2018 9:57 am
Location: Dublin, Ireland

Re: Just a question about when queens that do not fly.

Post: # 50111Post Hunter36o
Wed Sep 12, 2018 7:55 am

Yes I am aware, but what about someone like me who has two different species both with a single queen? Haha.
There are still design issues I have to figure out before I can put this on paper but the idea is sound. Like how to in sure the workers do not bother with the dome and do not get caught in a confined mating mayhem. Also since there will be far to many queen's there is need to be a latch made to make sure some queens can go off freely to start a new colony as I read some queens refuse to go back to the old nest.

I also want to design it in such a way that it can be taken apart and stored away instead of having this empty dome take up valuable space at home. I have a few ideas and the software to draw it out in 3D so I think it is more then possible and beneficial to all ant keepers.
Also you could observe the mating take place before your eyes to see how that particular species is like.

For example I saw Lasius Niger's mate and males sit on the queen and wait their turn. However on a YouTube video I saw of a Myrmica Rubra mating flight it seemed very aggressive and males had no patience to wait their turn and tried to push their way to the good spot.
Research is important before during and even after you have established a colony. There is always time to learn and to listen to others experiences. Live by this and your ants will thrive. Fail to do so and your experience may be brief.

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